A common dish in Northern Italy, polenta or cornmeal porridge (not as sexy, is it?) is one of those special ingredients that lends itself to both sweet and savoury exploration. It was originally cooked over open flames in a special copper pot known as a paiolo. Paying homage to its peasant roots, polenta is traditionally served spread across a large wooden board. Place it in the centre of the table and let everyone dive in!
If you’re looking for a creamy consistency to accompany, say, ragu, cook your polenta over the stovetop with water, stock or the supreme indulgence, milk. (O Tama Carey shares her tricks of the trade .) Once cooked, pour your polenta into a greased and plastic wrapped pan before letting it chill in the fridge for a few hours. From there, the corny slab can be cut into pieces and chargrilled, fried or baked for a gluten-free alternative to chips.
But don’t stop there with your pack of polenta. You can throw it into any number of cakes, including this syrup-soaked or a . And heck, this Italian is built upon the stuff!
So to celebrate polenta’s appearance in this week, we’ve rounded up 8 of the best recipes featuring this corny star.
Creamy polenta is a staple in the sinking city of Venice. For a classic combination, pair the mash with sautéed . The simple addition of butter, thyme, onions and white wine will turn the offal into a taste sensation.
Source: Chris Chen
Give polenta the VIP treatment. First, cook with milk and water until you reach creamy perfection, then sprinkle with Parmesan shavings, thyme, salt and chilli flakes. , pumpkin cubes and just-cooked cherry tomatoes make an excellent accompaniment.
Source: Benito Martin
Known as zaletti, these Italian biscuits are made with polenta, pasta flour, lemon zest, currants and the rocket-fuel of delicious digestives, grappa. With great gritty texture and sweet-sour notes, they bode well alongside an espresso.
Source: Brett Stevens
Get your grill on
Go low and slow this weekend with beautiful braised veal or beef cheeks and cheesy, charred polenta slabs. The soft ‘n’ crispy combo mixes nicely with a bottle of Italian red.
Braised veal cheeks with grilled polenta (guancia di vitello con polenta alla griglia) Source: SBS Food
If you’re looking to bolster your bread making repertoire with a relatively easy recipe, this , or cornbread, is one for you._.jpg?imwidth=1280)
Source: Alan Benson
A lot of Italian street food originated from the need to make food stretch as far as possible, combining what few ingredients were available with leftovers. This is one such dish. are fried shapes of leftover polenta, found predominantly in Bari and Naples in the south of Italy. You can bake them in the oven (which makes them healthier) and although not traditional, serve them with a garlic mayonnaise as a dipping sauce on the side.
Polenta chips (scagliozzi) Source: Paola Bacchia
Pairing polenta’s unique texture with the bang-on deliciousness of citrus, this is a winner for winter months. The inclusion of limoncello in the sugar syrup is a boozy bonus.
Lemon polenta cake Source: Benito Martin
What a marvel. This stays moist even after a couple of days thanks to those healthy nut oils. It’s gluten-free, too. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone or Greek yoghurt and you’re dreamin’!
Pistachio-honey polenta cake Source: Benito Martin
“Morsels of fried polenta and chunks of roasted nashi mingle together and are balanced with crunchy slivers of fennel and watercress,” says chef O Tama Carey. Well, doesn’t that sound nice? This is a warm winter salad you’ll want to take to work.
Roasted nashi, fennel, and crispy polenta salad Source: Sharyn Cairns
